Meet the People with Love

Description

"Henri Cartier-Bresson (perhaps the most celebrated father of street photography and amongst the first to elevate it to an art) said somewhere that your first 10,000 pictures are your worst. So, given that I have probably taken about that many pictures in those few short years, I present in this book - a curated selection of what will become my worst pictures." Derren Brown ____________ As well as being an incredible stage performer, a brilliant writer and a talented painter, Derren Brown is also a fantastic street photographer. Here, for the first time, is a selection of his work. As he writes of his passion- 'Street photography is a fitting refuge for those who look at life from a distance. It both sanctifies our remoteness (by offering the standpoint of the observer) and challenges it, insisting we approach with a spritely curiosity. It offers a safe route back into the world- the camera is an entry ticket to daunting social situations and extraordinary environments where we might otherwise feel entirely out of place. Suddenly we have a role- a reason to be present. And for those of us smitten by its appeal, it provides a means of fortifying and forgetting ourselves, while extending out into the world with a controlled compassion.'

Derren began his UK television career in December 2000 with a series of specials called Mind Control. Since redefining the genre of magic for intelligent, modern audiences, he has become synonymous with the art of psychological manipulation. His TV shows have become must-see events. Amongst a varied and notorious career, Derren has played Russian Roulette on live television, convinced middle-managers to commit an armed robbery in the street, led the nation in a seance, stuck viewers to their sofas, successfully predicted the National Lottery, motivated a shy man to land a packed passenger plane at 30,000 feet, exposed psychic and faith-healing charlatans, and hypnotised a man to assassinate Stephen Fry. On top of this he tours the UK every year with a sell-out stage show. He has published four books- Tricks of the Mind, Confessions of a Conjuror, Happy and a book of his caricatures, Portraits.

When he's not mesmerising audiences on stage and TV, illusionist Derren Brown prefers a different trick: disappearing into a crowd with his camera. His pictures are beautiful, if understated. In Meet the People with Love, he reveals the magic of taking pictures without being spotted. * FT *